The Forsaken
by Daddy's Pixie
Summary: Please, don’t hurt yourself. I want to take away all of your pain. I will do anything for you. I will give you whatever you heart wants… Just let me.'
1. Prologue

**Hello, my name is Daddy's Pixie but you can call me Pixie for short. This is my first fan-fiction. I got this idea, morbidly, from a dark thought I had in my head for an hour or so. Then I thought, 'Hey! This would be a good drama for a fan-fic!' and thus this morbid fan-fiction was given birth. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own not any characters belonging to Rumiko Takahashi. I just want to borrow them for an undisclosed amount of time in which they will be tortured and poked at by me and then returned in a worse mental state of mind:D**

**Onto the story**

**Prologue:**

Leaves skittered across the pavement of the empty church parking lot; and the crescent moon in the cloudy midnight sky cast its cold smile over the church's bell tower.

'_Let it smile, then_' she thought.

The girl had no real reason to care whether the moon laughed at her or not, anymore. Its dim light illuminated her strangely, making her seem almost like a character from a fairy tale. Her simple white blouse glowed, her blue jeans seemed shadowy, and her trench coat was an eerie absence of all color. But most of all, the moon affected her brown eyes, turning them almost black. Those eyes had an exhausted look about them, the kind that told the story of a person pushed into things where she didn't belong.

She reached her stopping point, directly in the shadow cast by the church tower, and dropped her duffel bag onto the ground. From it, she methodically removed five candles, a box of matches, three photos of friends and family, and a long butcher knife.

The girl paused. The night seemed almost dead, the only sound coming from above were the bells, the ominous sound filling the dark. Her breathing was labored, but she couldn't give in, couldn't succumb to weakness and self-pity. Slowly, she picked up the yellow candle and put it in the direction of the east. Next came the red one to the south, the blue in the west, and the green in the north. Then, she picked up the white candle and the pictures. Silent tears streamed down her face as she gazed upon happy images of her loved ones.

'_No_,' she urged herself. '_I won't feel sorry for myself_.'

She withdrew a match and struck it on the ground. Her eyes still locked upon those cheerful faces, her fingers trembled as she lit the first candle. The girl closed her eyes, feeling the wind, and whispered, "To the Spirit that connects us all." After one last fleeting look, she forced herself to stand up straight go back. As she arrived at the center of her candle compass, she didn't see the white candle's flame gather strength, glowing brightly in midnight's darkness.

Then she lit the yellow candle. "My greeting to the Sylphs! Guardians of the east wind and the rising sun. Bring the winds of change, truth, and understanding to those I leave behind." A soft wind came up from the east, as if responding to her call.

The flames on the candle flickered menacingly, as she heard it for the first time that evening. That small, soft voice in the back of her head, pleading

…_You don't have to do this. Let me help, you. Let me…_

She shoved the voice aside and violently struck another match. Then she lit the red candle.

"Hail to the Salamanders! Guardians of the Southern Flame and the noon sun. May you illuminate my path to the Underworld, just as you illuminate the paths of the living that I leave behind." Around her warmth came, almost soft and comforting. But with it also came power, helping strengthen her resolve.

…_I can help you. Please…_

Then she lit the blue candle. "Glory to the Undines! Protectors of the western waters and of the twilight! Bring waves of mercy for those affected by my death." The sound of waters and waves coursed though her.

_STOP THIS! I BEG YOU, DON'T DO THIS!_

Then, with a break in her voice, she recited, "Blessed be the Gnomes! Protectors of the northern earth and the night sky. Give dreams of tranquil oblivion to those I leave behind."

_What about your family? When they find your body? What about your dreams? I can give you happiness. I can give you all these things and more. _

_Just let me help._

The girl looked around at her handiwork, the candles enclosing her in the dark circle, and gave in to her tears. Heavy sobs choked her speech as she yelled, "I don't want to do this! I want to-….I want to…." She cried there, not really knowing for whom long before she stops. The spirits comforting her, wondering what to do. Finally she stood up. Though her eyes were red and puffy, she had a little tougher look about her.

_You don't have to do this. Just let me take care of you. You won't have to worry. Just go home, to your family. You want to see their smiling faces again, don't you?_

The candles gleam reflected fiercely in her determined eyes as she cut a slashed through her palm, spreading out the blood into a circle around her. As she moaned in pain gasping for sweet breath from the intensity of the pain, beads of sweat rolled down her face.

_Please, don't hurt yourself. I want to take away all of your pain. I will do anything for you. I will give you whatever you heart wants…_

Her voice was strained with the suppressed suffering. "Mother…Mother Goddess," she gasped. "Forgive me; forgive your daughter for taking the life you have given her." She clutched the shiny butcher knife more tightly in her hands. "God the Father…Do not hold this one in contempt for what she is about to do! And if you should cast me into the lake of fire, then cast the evil within me to the depths of hell!" Wow, that sounded pretty damn good, but never mind that. The bells started ringing again, reminding her it was time. She took what she thought would be her last breaths on this earth. Everything seemed so calm, so peaceful in those last few tolls of her funeral bells. Though she had been planning this for weeks now, it was at this time she found herself wishing that she were home. In a few hours her mother would wake her up for school; she would have breakfast with her family, have a day with her friends, and play with her cat. Tears filled her eyes imagining a normal life she could have had. That she wished she had.

_Please. Please…I promise you, I can make it all better. I promise. Don't do this. Don't hurt yourself this way. Please, Kagome, STOP THIS, NOW!_

Kagome's lips cracked into an eerie smile as she prepared to die. "So it was in the beginning, it shall be in the end." So she raised the blood streaked knife above her head "So mote it be," and plunged…aiming for her heart.

**How did you like the story? Tell me what you think by pressing that little purple button and reviewing. I'd like to thank my editors who spent most of yesterday all of last night and most of the early morning arguing over ponies and penguins….I don't know….that's what I heard so…Yeah… **

**Just review. Thank you, **

**Daddy's Pixie**


	2. Chapter I

**Hello again! I updated! Yay! I had to starve my editor but it worked! . I would like to thank everyone who read and everyone that reviewed! **

**Inubabe4e, ionwolf, LockeChan, KamKamChan/Chase Lane, and Mr. Little Fish, Thank you so much for your reviews! I loved reading them. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own. You don't sue. **

"We are _live_ outside of the Our Lady of Perpetual Bliss Cathedral, where it appears that an eighteen year old female, whose name will not be disclosed, has performed a satanic suicide ritual," the falsely concerned female reporter turned to the confused, burly police office beside her and began an assault of questions.

"Officer Kimura, why do you believe that satanic rituals have increased so much in this district?"

"Um, well," the officer cast a nervous sideways glance at the huge crowd of pagans and witches to his left, "I have been informed that, erm, no comment." The Christians to his right shot him glares that could freeze the marrow in a dragon's bones.

"Officer, what was your immediate reaction when you were called in to look at this…bloody mess?"

"Well, Akira and I were running down to the convenience store to check out a break-in, and we thought we'd just get some donuts while we were at it, when that police radio came on and said some weirdo'd…" he looked again, fleetingly at the pagans and coughed, "_poor child, _had killed herself in a church parking lot. Well, we got down there's fast as we could, after we finished our donuts, 'cause we knew we wouldn't have much of an appetite after that, and I couldn't believe all the freakin' blood around the place. It was horrible."

The reporter wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, and members of both crowds did the same at this. Some people shot worried glances towards the officer, others towards the blood that still stained the pavement, and wondered…

'How did this man become an officer of the law…?'

The reporter decided to wrap up the interview quickly, "So there you have it from…_Officer_ Kimura. Now we're going to show you a few images of the scene after the girls' body was removed. Be warned, what you are about to see is controversial, and graphic, in nature." She could barely contain her excitement, and the concern in her voice was so obviously false that the pagans wondered why she bothered.

The news feed then displayed picture after picture of the burned out candles, and black and white still-frame shots of the bloody circle.

"From," she paused dramatically, "Our Lady of _Perpetual Bliss,_ this is Keiko Kigami from Channel 9 News."

"Are the cameras off?" Keiko asked.

"Yeah."

"Thank God. I need a drink," she looked toward the Christians. "…Of coffee." She didn't see the red light still blinking on the camera.

It was blurry, bright and white. There was no sound and it smelled way too clean, like everything was recently washed in bleached. 'Where am I?' Kagome thought, she tried to get up but she got dizzy and fell back on what felt like a bed. "Ohhhh." 'That hurt.' She winced and opened her eyes again to see it was slightly less blurry but still bright and white. 'Am I in hell? Or am I in heaven?'

Suddenly, sound came flooding back. The heart monitor's beeping keeping time with her heart was loud, as was the sounds of telephones going off and people walking and talking. Everything was so loud.She tried to put her hands up to her head to drown out the sound but she couldn't move them.

Kagome looked down at her arms and tried to see something else besides a blur. It cleared up and she found that it was heavily wrapped. Then she tried moving her fingers and just barely saw them twitch.

'I must be in the hospital. Great. How did I end up in here? Nobody would be able to find my body until later in the morning so what happened?' She looked back down at her hands. 'I suck at killing myself. I really can't do anything right.' She blinked back tears. 'How am I gonna face my family? Not to mention my friends…I can't tell them why I really did. God I'm screwed.

She looked at the ceiling. "You really must hate me so much you like to see me in pain or I have to live with this cause you don't want to deal with it. Either way, you suck." Kagome stuck her tongue out.

An hour passed and nobody came to check up on her. 'You'd think that the nurses would check in once in a while. I wonder what momma must think…God I'm such a horrible daughter to make her worry like that…But maybe…IT's gone?_'_

_You can't get rid of me that easily, bitch. What in all the hells did you think you were doing? _

'Getting rid of you. What did it look like?!'

_Kinda like __suicide__. And why? I didn't do anything. _

'You call taking over my body and beating the crap out of Hojou-kun nothing?'

_Punk deserved it. He was getting too close. I was just looking out in your best interest._

'He was polite and he didn't even hold my hand! He was just giving me a goodnight kiss on the freakin' _cheek_! And don't look out for my best interest without consulting me first.'

_So does this mean I can stay?_

'No, I'm going to find something or someone to get rid of you. I don't know if you gonna take over my body again and hurt my family.'

_Look, Kagome, I don't want to hurt your family. If I did I would have done so a long time ago. I just didn't like that guy touching you. _

Kagome was delayed in replying when a nurse came in to check in on her.

"Oh you're up now! How are you? Do you need anything?" She asked as she took her blood pressure and checked her wounds. Kagome just shook her head, no. "Alright then. What about I get you family in here? I'm sure they'll love to see you up and alive." The nurse whose name was Miaka, smiled happily. But she was speaking to an already sleeping Kagome.

The hospital grounds looked very pleasant for 4:20 in the afternoon on a fall day. The breeze was soft and barely cool.

'Good weather,' Keiko thought. 'Not the kind I'd like to do this interview in, though. It'd be better if it was dark. And depressing.' Birds sang pleasant tunes in the well groomed oak trees nearby. 'Perfect,' she thought.

Keiko strolled confidently up the sidewalk and burst through the hospital's automatic glass doors. The receptionist wasn't pleased.

"Hello, I'm Keiko Kigami from Channel 9 News, and I would like an interview with Kagome Higurashi. Could you give me her room number?" she asked, as sweetly as possible. Keisuke, her camera man, raised his eyebrow skeptically. He seriously doubted this was going to work, but then again, Keiko wasn't here to interview _him_, was she?

The receptionist stopped ruffling through her papers for a moment to give Keiko a cold blank look. Without a word to the reporter, she picked up the phone and pressed a few buttons. "Hello?" she asked in an extremely nasal voice. "Doctor Setsuna? This is Natsume; some reporter-lady wants to interview suicide-girl. How should I tell her no?"

For a moment the only sound was the doctor's equally nasal voice on the telephone. Keiko wondered vaguely if they were related. Finally, Natsume put down the phone and said, "Dr. Setsuna says that she hasn't reached consciousness yet, so your interview would be pretty dull. I suggest you leave the hospital and if Higurashi-san would _like_ to be attacked with stupid questions, she'll call you," she gave Keiko a look of pure disdain. "Have a nice day," she finished, almost entirely through her nose.

"Psst, Keisuke, is the camera off?"

Keisuke grunted in reply.

"Good." She turned back toward the receptionist. "I don't know who you think you are, but I am the most prominent on-site reporter for Channel 9. Now, they sent me here for an interview, and I'm going to get the damn interview! Even if I have to prop the girl's head up and have Keisuke talk for her!"

Keisuke just shook his head and kept recording. 'Such a bitch…' he thought. 'Revenge is so sweet.'

The receptionist pushed the glasses up on her nose and stared at Keiko with a look that could only be interpreted as, "You dumb ass." With her right index finger, she daintily pressed the red button beside the computer. Four burly men that could probably beat Keisuke into a bloody pulp (who wasn't so bad himself, by the way), came into the room through unseen walls.

All four grabbed _Miss _Kigami and happily escorted her out of the hospital and onto the ground on the outside. Keisuke walked out filming every minute of this. "You'll regret this!! I promise you, or I'm not Keiko Kigami! Come one, Keisuke. We're gonna have to tell Mr. Fushimo that this interview isn't going to work out."

Inside the hospital, Kagome was having a sneezing fit. 'A lot of people must be talking about me' she thought before falling into a light slumber.

**I hoped ya'll liked this chapter! I hate to ask this but if ya liked the story, please review. I want to know what ya'll think so I can improve on it. Thank You!!**


	3. Chapter II

**Hello! How's everyone? I wanted you to have this chapter, to show that I haven't given up on this and I won't… Yeah. 101 hits. 5 reviews. I know I'm being a wee bit whiny here, but would it hurt to push the purple button if you liked it? …Or didn't, even? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own. You don't sue. You sue me; I won't give them back to you. **

**Lawyers look at the deranged pixie Yes, I would….**

Kagome looked at the face of her mother, already knowing what she wanted to talk about. It had been a week after her attempt on her life and it had been four days since her mother came into the room hugged her and cried over her. Kagome had tried to hug her back, but since she had hacked away at herself, her body proved weak and uncooperative. It was something that Kagome could never forget. Wouldn't forget.

Yaone Higurashi was looking resolved and sad. She shut the door behind her, indicating that this would be a significant, personal conversation. Yaone took a seat near the bed, folded her hands and looked at them for several minutes. She then looked up at Kagome with tears in her eyes. "Why? Why would you do this to yourself? Is it because your father and I are too hard on you? Is it drugs? Kids at school? Kagome, what made your life so bad that you wouldn't want to live anymore?" Her mother asked her pleadingly.

Kagome just looked very helpless. It had been a week since she talked and even though she knew she could still talk, a big part of her didn't know what to say. Also she wanted to think up a plausible excuse for doing this other than, "Oh. By the way mom, I think I have a demon living within me, so I was afraid that it would take over my body and kill all of you!" Yeah, that would go over real nicely. She'd be in the loony bin before you could say 'demon be gone'.

She looked around and signaled to her mother that she wanted a pen and paper. Yaone found some and took it over to her. Kagome took the offered pen and notepad and, wincingly, wrote down:

_**It wasn't your fault.**_

She looked at her regressed, childish handwriting before handing over to her mother.

Her mother looked at the writing, then back at Kagome and said, "Then _**why**_?" as she handed back the notepad. "Was it the kids at school?" Kagome thought about that for a minute. She did have problems at school ever since Sango moved down the street and had to go to a different one. Kids were always picking on her, saying horrible things and such. She never ever felt that killing herself would stop all of that, but it sounded better than the truth. She nodded.

Yaone looked so relieved and slightly happy. "Oh my poor baby, I'm so sorry! I should have realized it sooner. You should have talked to me about this. I'm so sorry, Kagome." She said hugging her daughter to her. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll transfer you to Sango's school and that will take care of that. Next time _talk_ to me before doing something so drastic again. I thought I lost my baby girl."

The 'baby girl' just sighed and wrote something else down in her childish handwriting:

_**I'm sorry.**_

Her mother looked at it and smiled. "It's okay, just don't do this again. You didn't think about what it would do to us." Miaka the nurse came in, forestalling any mother/daughter bonding time.

"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" she asked.

Yaone looked actually happy for the first time in a week. "No." she replied as she got up from her chair. "I was just leaving. I have to pick up Yutaro from class." She leaned over Kagome and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be back after I pick up you siblings. Your father and grandmother will come by later. Bye, my baby"

Kagome nodded and got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Yaone smiled and left as Miaka took her blood pressure. "So everything good with you and your mom?" A nod from Kagome. "That's good. I hate when family members are upset." Miaka took her temperature and other routine procedures while asking stupid pointless questions about her life. Which Kagome couldn't really answer much more beyond a nod, a shake, or a shrug. Finally, after the torture was over Miaka left Kagome alone with her thoughts.

'Why is grandmother coming? She's too old to be out and about….'

_Well, maybe it's because her eldest granddaughter just tried to kill herself._

'Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that….'

_FORGOT! How could you forget about something like that? You nearly took your life and just forgot about after a week?_

'Ok. Ok. Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. I just never did expect anyone to save me.'

_Well, you shouldn't have done a stupid thing like that, stupid girl._

'I was trying to get rid of you. I'd do it all again just to get you out of my life!'

_Hey! I saved YOURS not too long ago! Be THANKFUL!!!_

'I didn't wan to be _saved_! If you want to be SOOO helpful, just leave me the hell alone!!!'

_Ain't gonna happen, little girl. I'm here to stay whether you like it or not. And don't you think about getting rid of me again 'cause, I WILL stop you!_

'I'll never be free of you……..' Kagome thought as realization hit her.

_Damn straight you won't._

Kagome's eyes started to water. 'I won't ever have a husband. No kids…No grandkids. I will never have a family...' She started to cry. 'I'll never live.' She started to sob.

_No. Don't cry. Please don't cry. You don't know that._

'YOU WON'T LET ME!' she shouted at the voice in the darkness. 'Leave me alone…' As she continued to sob quietly in her bed.

_ Kagome opened her eyes to find herself in meadow. She sat up and looked more closely at her surroundings. The wind breathed life into the grass as the butterflies and ladybugs flew away. All around her was green vegetation untouched, it seemed, by man. Beside her was an old well. _

_ She was curious about the old well, it looked like something she should know…or did know, but the wind blew more furiously and the butterflies and ladybugs flew in one direction as if beckoning her to follow them._

_ She stood up and followed them. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. They led her down a well trodden path that was familiar yet unfamiliar to her. Everything was quiet, only the sounds were the trees dancing in the wind and the tiny bugs she was following. _

_ Finally they lead her to a clearing, with an ancient tree looming overhead, dominating the space. Again it was so familiar to her but she couldn't place where she had seen it, but the thought was immediately driven from her head when she saw a young man pinned to the great tree. _

_ He had red old fashioned garb, long silver hair cute dog ears on top of his head and handsome to boot. Her eyes drifted to his lips and she wondered if they were kissable. Suddenly she was aware that there was no sound. Nothing. No breeze. No bugs. Nothing, just the sound of their breathing. _

_ She took a step back, and snapped a twig. It seemed to resonate from the clearing to the whole forest, it was so loud. She looked at the dog-eared man. His ears twitched but nothing else. _

_ Kagome let out the air that she didn't know she was holding in, and was about to turn around when the lovely man slowly opened his eyes. She gasped at the color of his eyes, golden-amber. Wonderful color to go with that wonderful body. Then the realization hit her that he was alive despite being pinned by an…arrow…in his chest. _

_ She was awakened from her thoughts when he whispered her name. _

"_**Kagome**__." He said again and again. "__**Kagome. Kagome.**__"_

**So, another chapter down, some more to go. Please review. Pretty please. holds up a puppy Look at that face. You can't say no to a puppy could you?**

**Puppy: Pwease review. Pwetty pwease.**


	4. Chapter III

**Fairy: Ok, Pixie says she isn't getting as many reviews as she was hoping for. So I am here to get some! :D *gun to a cute random puppy* REVIEW OR THE PUPPY GETS IT!!!!!**

**Pixie: Fairy, put down the gun. *she says in an annoyed manner***

**Locke: We do not kill puppies, Fairy. That would be inhumane *takes puppy and hands over a cute, white, fluffy kitten* Here cats are useless anyway. *she smiles* **

**Fairy: Thank you, Locke, how thoughtless of me. *coughs* REVIEW OR THE KITTY GETS IT!**

**Pixie *sighs as she regrets even informing Fairy of her story* I'm gonna call the 'Happy Hotel'. (The other two don't listen as she picks up the phone to the mental institution and is put on hold) Oh before I forget.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue. Or I won't give them back to you!**

**Lawyers: *look at Pixie***

**Pixie: Nevermind I would. Now onto the story!**

"_**Kagome, Kagome,**__" he whispered softly as he closed his eyes. _

_Fearing that he was dead, Kagome took a step forward. As she reached her hand out for him, a blast of hot air hit her full in the face. She stopped dead in her tracks, and through her squinted eyes she saw the angry blast of fire and brimstone, where…where _he_ had been. _

_When she looked back up, the giant tree wasn't anywhere to be seen, neither was the handsome man. All around her were scorching flames. She could hardly breathe for the smoke, the ashes from the fire that was choking the life out of her. In her confusion, she thought she heard the agonized screams of the dying, and the damned. She coughed and saw a figure coming forth from the fires of hell. _

_She immediately noticed his shoes; they looked like black skater-shoes that had certainly seen better days. Barely covering them was baggy jeans that had rips, tears, and dried blood all over. His shirt was white with tears and dried blood, but there was not a scratch on him. _

'_If he has no scratches…?'_

_It was apparent that he worked out a lot, seeing as he had a 6-pack. 'God is he sexy', was the solitary thought that fluttered through her head (if thoughts were butterflies, then this one was short lived indeed, and rather lacking in company), but she couldn't see his face. It was shrouded in darkness._

_He opened his eyes and Kagome gasped in fear. Two blood red eyes-- like hot coals-- stared fiercely at her. She took a step back. A demonic chuckle. "__**Kagome. Ka~go~me.**__" The demonic man cooed out, more laughter intertwining with the screams. He took a step forward, lunging at her. Kagome screamed, covered her eyes, and started to fall. _

_A few minutes passed and nothing had happened; she wasn't mutilated, tortured or raped. Kagome opened her eyes to find that she was falling in darkness._

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_FALLING!_

_Then, randomly, a man with an egg shaped head floated by her. As he fell, the egg-man tipped his old fashioned top hat towards her, as a polite gesture. A couple moments after that there came a baby fox with a blue ribbon tied in its hair, doing BONZAI! She felt a drop of sweat roll down, no _up_ her face at that. _

'_When am I gonna wake up?' She thought absently. She got a cold shiver up her spine and found herself on solid ground. She looked up and saw that the egg-man and the baby fox were still floating in space, gradually moving in none of the four directions on the compass, but some strange fifth one. The egg-man's hat fell off of his head/body, and burst into flames. The burning hat fell gracefully to the ground, landing with a soft 'phtt' in front of her. Slowly, the figures drifted from her view, leaving nothing…Kagome looked down at the dying embers from the hat. The last one twinkled out, and a puff of twisting gray smoke floated up through the abyss to show Kagome her only company…_

_A mirror. _

_Kagome walked up to it and looked into it and saw a slender figure wearing a tight white T-shirt and fuzzy red slippers. She turned around and the figure was still there, but very blurry. _

_Kagome felt an inexplicable wave of sadness; even despite the funny slippers. She gazed painfully at the figure, almost as if in mourning. _

_That was when the mirror-woman said…_

…"_**Look up**__." _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kagome woke with a start and looked around her hospital room. It was night fall, that was evident, but there wasn't the normal hustle and bustle sounds of a busy hospital out there. There also wasn't any homicidal demon running around trying to kill her or a weird woman trying to give her advice.

Suddenly, the stress and feelings that the dream caused her, came back in full rush. Kagome wiped away the tears the fell down her face. And looked out the window to see the moon had just become half. It gave a faint light to her room where the hospital lights didn't reach. She calmed down, taking deep breaths until she eventually fell into a deep slumber.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The night was chilly, but not entirely cold. The wind outside danced through the leaves, and played through trees, and even gave a playful howl of sorts occasionally. The streets were empty, save for the odd car that would pass by at 11:46 on a weekday.

The man in the window wasn't bothered by the cars, however.

The house, like the man who lived in it, was refined and quiet. The study window that he stood in front of overlooked a grove of trees, which he found helped him contemplate. Contemplation was exactly what he needed. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his cold brown-black eyes and his matching black hair reflected in the window, contrasting the lighter silver-gray of his sophisticated business suit.

'_Filthy humans with their damn formal clothing'_, he thought.

A breeze flowed through the room to him from the opening of the study door, and a husky female voice cut through the silence. "Your son is here to have a word with you, _My Lord._"

He turned around to look at her. She was dressed well. She wore a lady's business suit—both jacket and skirt were standard black. However, the blouse underneath was vibrant red, as if she couldn't wear something so dull without at least adding a bit of personality. Her hair was drawn back into a simple bun. Her eyes gave away her amusement.

"And what does he want, _My Lady_?" he asked, with the same joking lilt in his voice.

"He only wanted to ask about that little errand you're going to send him on…" she smiled, and raised her eyebrows inquiringly, asking without words if she should send his son in. The Lord nodded in reply, and the woman left the room gracefully.

Seconds later, a young man with his hair in a ponytail walked in. Something in his manner, or perhaps in his eyes, implied that he was usually more light-humored, but his current bearing was somber and reverent: the result of a respectable, if slightly harsh, upbringing.

"Father," he bowed his head deferentially.

The young man received a return nod in acknowledgement, and his father gestured a set of chairs facing one another by an unlit fireplace. Not wanting to seem rude (and actually happy at the idea of a comfortable chair, after a long day) pony-tail-man seated himself in the chair to the right, and looked up at his father.

The still-fairly-young looking Father pushed a button on the desk, and the fireplace sprang to life. He then walked to the chair opposite of his son and seated himself, regally.

Awkward silence. "How has…" began the son, but he was cut off by the woman from before, his mother, poking her head in through the partially opened door.

"Can I get you anything, sweetie?" she asked. "I know you've come quite a way to be here tonight. Iced tea, maybe? Or maybe something with a bit more kick to it…"

The son suddenly relaxed, and began, "I'd _love_ a…"

"Tea will be _fine_," the Lord emphasized.

"Alright. I'll be back in a moment."

"Sooo…" the son said looking at the ceiling. His father stared stoically at the door, waiting, while his wife went to fetch the tea. The young man began to whistle, and then sing "…a lovely bunch of coconuts…" His song trailed off as his father glared unappreciatively at him.

"…Your hair is looking lovely, father," he said, smiling a bit too much. He knew before he said it that perhaps this wasn't the right thing to say, but he did it anyway. His father refused to look at him for the full minute before the drinks came.

As a welcome relief, his mother walked through the door. The young man smiled courteously at her.

"Thank you," father and son said at once.

"I'll let you two get to talking," she said brightly, and left them for the last time.

Yet another awkward silence filled the room. Father and son sat across from each other, neither sure of what to say. And then both began at once—

"Fa…"

"Y…"

The son gestured for his _dad _(though he'd never call him that) to continue.

"You've graduated college with a Ph.D. Pursuing psychiatry was a good choice. I'm…" he struggled for a word, since emotion of any kind didn't come easily to him. "…Pleased," he ended, a bit coldly.

"Thank you, father," said the young man. He thought for a moment on a good topic, because the two didn't talk much. "Your business is picking up, despite the economy. I read an article about it in the paper."

The Lord nodded, as he usually did when he had nothing further to say on a subject. The conversation was tensely going nowhere. He allowed a brief pause.

"You got my letter, which brought you here," the Lord began, starting on the reason for the visit. His son nodded, but not the same disinterested nod of his father. His eyes lit up somewhat. "Then you know I'll be asking something of you." It wasn't a question. The son's posture became cautious now.

"I've arranged for you to have your own practice, in Tokyo. It's a decent office, in a wealthy downtown district," (the boy's eyes opened wide; he wasn't used to his father going to any trouble to do for him what he could do for himself) "In return, I have something I need you to do for me."

"…Yes…?"

The Lord handed his son a large, closed envelope.

"The instructions are in here. _Do not_ open this until you get to Tokyo." The cold command in his father's eyes sealed his son's obedience the same way as the old-fashioned ink seal had done the envelope.

The young man looked down at the concealed instructions and back up at his father, curious. "I won't open it."

"I'll be expecting a letter as soon as you arrive, and get settled." Letters were preferred to phone calls between the two men. Letters were more formal, and less awkward besides.

From the way his father grew more distant, it was obvious that the reason for the visit was concluded, and that everything that came now would be petty small-talk; Which was really too uncomfortable to bother with. For a moment, he wondered if he should thank his father, for the office… But no.

'_He didn't raise me to take favors,_' he thought. '_Father raised me to earn my keep._'

The Lord stood up, and gestured for the door. The young man followed. At the door, both of them paused, to say goodbyes.

"Father, I'll do well in Tokyo. You won't be ashamed," he offered, as what little thanks he would.

Unexpectedly, his father, the Lord, offered his hand. Hesitantly, for the first time in his entire life, he shook his father's hand. Dignified, he took one last bow, and left the study.

The Lord returned to the window and resumed his contemplation, until the breeze from the opening door roused him. He didn't turn around this time, he instead looked at her using her reflection in the window.

"…Yes, _Lady?_"

"I showed," (the sound of the door closing obscured the young man's name) "off the manor. He tries so hard… So, if you don't mind telling me…what _was_ in that _very important_ envelope you gave him?"

For the first time, the Lord's lips curved into something like a smile.

"Only that he should be on the lookout for _Someone_ interesting, and he should tell me if _Something_ interesting happens…"

"How vague." The amusement in her eyes added a devilish red gleam to their muddy brown color.

His half-smile widened, ever so slightly…

**Pixie: Thank you for reading!!!**

**Fairy: Now review or the kitty gets it! *holds gun to the kitty's head***

**Locke: Yeah! Review! **

**Men from the 'Happy Hotel' arrive.**

**Fairy/Locke: Pixie! Traitor!!!!!! **

**Pixie: I told you, I called them. *laughs as men in white suits run after Locke and Fairy.**

**One random man in white suit: Hey, aren't you the one that everybody was after last year…when you tried to kill Kikyou….**

**Pixie: *eyes open at realization* Crap…. *starts to run away***

**Men in white suits: Get them!**

**Pixie/Fairy/Locke: Review!!!!!!!!**


	5. Chapter IV

**Fairy: *holds up spoon* I told you my spoon theory would get us out of here!!!! **

**Locke: I didn't think this would work!!! *throws away her spork* **

**Pixie: I'm so sorry I didn't think they would actually chase me down and put me away!!! AHH!!! *mumbles* They didn't even give a computer... I probably don't have a fan-base anymore...my credibility is crap....*starts crying***

**Fairy: You had a fan-base?**

**Locke: *hits Fairy* If we leave now...maybe she won't see us and get us into more trouble...**

**Fairy: Point taken. *Idea Light goes off* I know how to cheer her up!!! *looks around* We gonna have to find the kitty first...I can make due without a gun! *smiles proudly***

**Locke: *shakes her head* Pixie doesn't own Inuyasha. Unless you count the millions of his merchandise that she now owns....So don't sue her. We'll be back after we find that kitty.....please read.**

He looked around _his_ new office. The smell of the clean open space brought out a sense of accomplishment. His books were on _his_ books shelf along with his other nick knacks. Pictures of his little sister and his mother adorned the spaces that lacked the proper. One picture had a place on _his_desk. It was of him and his father at a kendo competition. He actually won that one and his father couldn't be prouder. His mother had taken a picture when neither one was looking.

The young man sighed. It was just like his father to be proud of him for beating the crap out of kids. He waked to the chair at _his_ desk and sat down to look at the letter his father had given to him.

He carefully opened up the enormous envelope and was surprised that it held all of the documents needed for his new little practice. It wasn't like his father to do this. So going through the entire legal document he came to one of the last pages.

It read. _**K. Higurashi. Look into her case. **_

He put the two lined note from his father down by the other documents. The next page was from his mother.

_**Miroku-chan,**_

_**Your father is difficult. Look at the 'New Heights' Hospital in the west part of Tokyo. You'll find Kagome Higurashi there. Give me an update on the situation and I'll help you out as much as possible.**_

_**Your loving mother**_

_**P.S. I'll be expecting a phone call from you tomorrow. And never be a stranger in my house, love. **_

Miroku muttered something along the lines of not being little any more and mothers making too much of a big deal of their sons.

But he smiled as he pushed a button for the secretary. "Yamamoto-san, Could you get New Heights on the phone. I would like to speak to them about a Higurashi, Kagome becoming a patient of mine."

The speaker reply. "Yes, Takigawa-sama, I'll put them on right away."

"Thank You."

He relaxed in his chair. Things were looking up.

The bus ride from the hospital to the shrine where Kagome's grandmother lived was drawn out and uncomfortable. Kagome's mother sat next to her pretending to read a magazine; but Kagome knew better-- her mother's eyes hadn't left that same spot for about 10 minutes. Sango and her father sat across from them, in silence. Every once in a while, one of them would make a half-hearted remark about the weather…but these comments always died short of a conversation.

Two middle-aged women in front of them chattered excessively to shatter the silence.

"…at the Hokkaido Inn last week!"

"Oh, really well isn't that…"

Kagome stared out the window, letting the blinding light block out everything else. Her thoughts were disjointed and meandering. Kagome felt vaguely conscious of her parents and friend, felt their presence like some sort of guilty obligation. But really, she just wanted to let it all go…

Maybe living at the shrine would be a relief, who knew? 'A change of scene would be sort of nice,' she thought. Kagome thought back on the conversation when she, and her grandmother, decided it would be best if she got away for a while. For the next few minutes, she just played through the memory in her mind…

_Kagome was laying in her hospital bed, half-asleep, half-awake. She opened her eyes to see her grandma and father looking down at her, concerned._

"_How are y'all?" she asked faintly._

"_Fine, Kagome," her father said. _

_"We're more worried about you,' her grandmother added. 'How are you feeling? Well, rested, I hope?"_

_Kagome nodded weakly. It was the best response she could make without lying. She felt horrible that her family was so worried about her, but she couldn't take back what she did._

_"Your grandmother and I want to talk to you about what's going to happen to you when you leave the hospital," her father said, in the tone he reserved for the most serious conversations only._

_Kagome saw the lines on her grandma's face tighten as her dad spoke. "Souta,' she whispered firmly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Why don't you wait outside while I talk to Kagome? I think it would be best."_

_For a moment, it looked like he was going to say something else, but he got up and, with a slight attempt at a smile, left._

_"Now, sweetie," she began, looking directly into Kagome's eyes, "I know you've been having a hard time lately. The stress of being a teenager can really get to you sometimes."_

_'Oh, god,' Kagome mentally rolled her eyes. The 'I sympathize' strategy, as if what was going on with Kagome's mind right now could even remotely be understood by anybody. She decided that she owed her grandmother the benefit of the doubt. After all, it had been quite a while since the woman had been young, and at least she was _trying.

_Grandma seemed to decide that her approach wasn't working, and she took on a more direct tone. "Your parents, and I, think it would be best if you came to live with me at the shrine. You'll be much closer to your school, and I can," she paused briefly, "can finally get to know my favorite granddaughter a bit better." She had almost said 'keep an eye on you', but immediately thought better of it._

_Kagome felt like breaking down and sobbing then and there. Her parents didn't know what to do with her, so they were going to ship her off to the shrine and let her grandmother decide that for them! _

_Her grandmother noticed the shift in attitude, and changed her own yet again. "I need help at the shrine. Let's face it, I'm not twenty-something anymore and we all know it. And Kami-only-knows your brother won't help me out enough with it. I just thought you might want to get away from all the attention." _

_When her grandmother put it like that, she felt like a moron for jumping to conclusions. Actually, she was a moron. She wouldn't _be_ in this stupid mess if she wasn't._

_"Would that be alright with you, honey?"_

_Kagome smiled and nodded. "Yes, Grandma, that sounds nice. Thank you." _

_The old woman breathed a sigh of relief inside. 'Bless her heart. I may have bungled it at the beginning,' she thought, 'but I pulled everything together. At least I handled it a bit more gently and roundabout than Souta would've done.'_

_"Your welcome, Sweetie," she said, as she pulled her grandchild into a tight hug._

She sighed for the umpteenth since she was discharged from the hospital. She looked over at Sango. She hadn't said a word to Kagome about her attempt on her own life and Kagome hadn't brought it up. They were at a stalemate. She didn't know what was going to happen but if Sango didn't confront her soon then she would just explode. She really wanted her to get mad at her, to scream at her. Hell, even hit her. She'd been a bad girl and she wanted Sango to punish her. (…..that sounded way too kinky……) 'I just want her to confront me. I don't know what I want anymore.' She sighed again, it was becoming habit. (Need to change this…)

Kagome sighed for the umpteen-billionth time since she was discharged from the hospital. With great effort, she tore her eyes away from the bus window and shot a furtive glance towards Sango. Her best friend hadn't even tried to talk to her about her attempted self-destruction, and Kagome had in turn been too cowardly to bring it up herself. They were at a stalemate. She didn't know what was going to happen, but if Sango didn't bring it up soon, Kagome felt her head would explode. She really wanted Sango to get mad at her, to scream at her. Hell, even hit her. ((She'd been a bad girl, and she wanted Sango to punish her…that sounded way too kinky…)) Anything but the silence.

'I don't know what I want anymore, just that I want her to say something,' she thought with another sigh. 'And that's becoming a habit. I really need to stop it.'

After the twenty longest minutes of Kagome's life, they finally reached the shrine. Her family had already packed all of her things in boxes and brought them over while she was in the hospital, so she wouldn't have to do any heavy lifting or stress over it. Her possessions would be inside her new room when she got there, patiently waiting to be unpacked. Her _new room…_ She wouldn't think about that just now. It was just too weird.

'How considerate they are of the crazy,' she mentally noted.

The bus stopped, and they got off. Souta led the way up the stairs, followed by Yaone, Sango, and finally Hisui (her grandmother) whose rheumatism made it difficult for her to climb the steep steps. Kagome didn't go up with them immediately; instead she took a few seconds to look at her _new home. _

She'd been there before, ten years ago. The shrine was exactly as she remembered it, except for the season. It really was very pretty, especially in the fall. The old style architecture looked very nice with the red leaves floating lazily to the ground all around it. The shrine's height and the stairs combined to make it look deeply imposing too. Not quite a homey feeling, more like the idea a person would get from something in a book.

Kagome's father laughed when they took a breather on the second flat. "Imagine going through that every day for twenty years. I'm about to die right now." Every one got a chuckle out of it. Hisui looked down at Kagome, her eyes plainly telling her to come on. She nodded at her grandmother, and started onto the first flight of stairs while the others were climbing their last. When she finally reached the top, the others had already gone in, perhaps in an attempt to respectfully leave her some space and let her adapt in her own time. Kagome privately appreciated the alone time.

Looking to her right, she saw _her tree_. Perhaps it was childish, thinking of the ancient Goshinboku as "her tree", sort of like a child would say, "Her toy"; but ever since she could remember she had felt a strong connection to the tree. It was comforting to think that something could live so long, and still grow. Kagome walked up to it slowly, and gently ran her fingers across the bark.

A sudden electric shock ran through her hand.

It wasn't a bad shock, only a surprising one. Being shocked by a tree could not possibly be normal, but rather than remove her hand, she pressed her entire palm against it. A feeling of protection washed over her. Feeling satisfied, Kagome finally walked inside to join her family.

.

After a very long (and awkward) conversation about the rules and whatnot, (that's a kool word whatnot. I should use it more :D) Kagome and Sango left the living room to unpack Kagome's new room. (I need to fix this damn sentence but you know what? Fuck it) when they opened the door they saw a god awful pink room.

"Kami. You really need to re-paint this, Kagome-Chan." Sango said out loud as she started to unpack her friend's clothes.

"Yeah, maybe a forest green." Kagome concluded.

"Or a chocolate brown?"

_Or a deep shade of red._

Kagome froze up as the voice of a male intruded on her conversation.

'Go away.'

No other whisper was heard. She blinked when Sango's hand waved passed her face.

"Earth to Kagome-Chan!"

"Oh sorry. I kinda spaced out there." She shook her head. They both started to unpack in silence.

"So…you ready for school?" Sango asked to break the weird wall of oppressing silence that had been built around them for the soul purpose of chocking them with awkwardness.

"Kinda." The wall 1; Sango 0.

Finally, everything was unpacked. Kagome sitting on the bed looked at Sango twirling around in a chair by the desk.

"Why, haven't you asked me about….what happened?" Kagome asked quietly.

Sango sighed and looked out the window. "Because everyone has asked to you and you haven't given them the _real_answer. So, when you're ready to tell me. I'm here. Okay, Kagome-Chan?"

Kagome stared at her friend in wonder. So many emotions went through her mind. She slowly got up and hugged Sango. For a few minutes they stayed like that until, Kagome whispered. "I can't tell you right now. As soon as I've deal with this, you'll be the first to know. Okay?"

Sango smiled as Kagome sat back on the bed. "Okay. I understand. But promise me you'll talk to me before you do something drastic as this?"

Kagome nodded. "I promise."

.^

Sango and her parents left before the sun had set. Kagome's grandmother ((who will be known from now on as Hisui)) found her granddaughter outside, in front of the Goshinboku.

Kagome's hand gently glided over the ancient tree's bark until she came to an indenture in the bark. She looked at it curiously, as a small child her great grandfather, nearly dead and totally crazy, would talk about a hanyou who was pinned to the tree by a miko's arrow. The rest of the story was mudded and lost to the sands of time.

"Kagome? Are you okay?"

Suddenly brought back to the present Kagome looked toward her grandmother. "Yeah. I was just thinking that it's been so long since I've visited the shrine."

Hisui nodded and smiled. "You and your brother, Yutaro, always tried to touch the arrows point to see if the arrow head was still there."

"Yeah. It isn't in there. I wonder if it ever was." She wondered out loud

Hisuis face became sad and thoughtful. "My daughter found it when she was a little younger than you." She turned towards the house. "I have dinner on to cook and you have school tomorrow."

Kagome winced. The little knowledge that she had of her aunt was she died young and she was nearly a saint, bringing up her ended any/all conversations. She took a regretfully look at the thousand year young tree and went inside to help her grandmother.

**Locke and Fairy: *still looking for the kitty***

**Pixie: *looks up* I'm sorry about the delay we were held up...please don't throw things at me...*crys***


End file.
